The Worship Experience at SSS15

Gatherings

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Date:

Fri, 09/25/2015

Author:

Sherry Layton

By Sherry Layton, North Carolina, United States

Editor’s note: Sherry Layton was a member of the Planning Committee for the Urantia Book Fellowship’s Summer Study Session 2015 (SSS15), which was held at Techny Towers in Northbrook, Illinois, in July. The worship program offered a daily time of worship, themed “Love One Another.” Daily themes included Fatherly Love, Motherly Love, Brotherly Love, and Divine Love. Sherry reports on the program as it was experienced by the participants.

With a call to worship from Marion Perry, the worship program of SSS15 began. With the motive to provide a rich and diverse experience of gratitude to, love for, and adoration of our heavenly Father, the conductors of the worship program showered the worshipers with Persian poetry, personal stories of forgiveness, readings from The Urantia Book, the recitation of personal prayers, PowerPoint presentations, a candle lighting ceremony celebrating the divine light within, and uplifting music, including John Rutter’s choral piece, “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”

At the conclusion of the week’s worship program, participants had a “Last Breakfast,” instead of a “Last Supper.” Worshipers were encouraged to reflect on Jesus’ life by answering the same questions that Jesus asked his apostles after breakfast, as he visited with them two by two:

“Do you love me?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Do you serve me?”

“Do you obey me?”

“Do you believe in me?”

The act of answering and sharing our answers to Jesus’ questions was a worshipful experience. “The act [was] ours, the consequences God’s.”

Epilogue: Dear reader, you might want to answer these questions for your own edification. What does it mean for you to love, trust, serve, obey, and believe in the Master? How does this meaning apply to your daily decisions and desires?